Daily Dirt: For the Cubbies, all nicknames get in line after ‘Mr. Cub’

Daily Dirt for Wednesday, June 1, 2022

We’ve reached to a milestone edition of The Daily Dirt. And they said it wouldn’t last! Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 300 of The Daily Dirt.

1. We presented our all-time favorite nicknames of Cardinals players a couple of days ago. We return the favor for our Cubs fans today.

• Gold medal: “Mr. Cub.” The perfect nickname for the perfect man? Ernie Banks may be one of the most deserving players ever voted into Cooperstown.
• Silver medal: “Three Finger.” Mordecai Brown earned his nickname because his pitching hand had been disfigured in childhood accidents. He lost part of his index finger in a farming accident and sustained damage to his middle finger and pinkie in a separate incident. The result was wicked movement on pitches that helped him become an ace for the Cubs teams that went to four World Series (and won two) between 1906-10.
• Bronze medal: “Hippo.” James Leslie “Hippo” Vaughn, an accomplished but rather lumbering 6-foot-4, 215-pound left-handed pitcher, reportedly earned the nickname for his height, weight and gait. He was considered the best lefty in the National League from 1914-20.
• Special mention: Bob “Death to Flying Things” Ferguson, George “High Pockets” Kelly, Gabby “Old Tomato Face” Hartnett, Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams.

2. One of the most enduring acts of the pop/rock era has been ABBA. Here’s my five favorite songs from the Swedish supergroup:

• 1. “Knowing Me, Knowing You” (1976): The “aaah-haaaaa” parts are my favorite.
• 2. “Dancing Queen” (1976): Nobody will ever embrace the word “tambourine” like Agnetha and Anni-Frid.
• 3. “Waterloo” (1974): This monster hit was the group’s breakthrough song in the U.S.
• 4. “The Name of the Game” (1977): “There’s an undeniable soulful hook” in this classic, according to writer Jeff Benjamin of billboard.com.
• 5. “Take A Chance on Me (1981): Benny and Bjorn’s voices were featured on this particular hit.

3. The Great Plate Debate continues. The top three in our year-long pursuit of the best license plates in West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri remains unchanged, but we have five more weekly winners:

2022 Medal-Winners To Date

• Gold medal: LUV YADI. It’s the 14th straight week atop the rankings.
• Silver Medal: GOL D LOX.
• Bronze medal: TAXED.

This Week’s Top 5

• 1. MRSPETE: Top o’ the day to you, Mrs. Pete.
• 2. DOCKIE 9: I’m just guessing that this may be a member of our local medical community.
• 3. BOBNLN: Say it out loud.
• 4. 2 ACRES: Sounds like a great name for a farm.
• 5. MOMO 11: This one has me complete baffled. Maybe some sort of tribute to a mom with 11 children? 

Steve Thought O’ The Day
If Steve had pitched for the Cubs between 1914-20, he, too, may have been nicknamed Hippo.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Other nicknames that would have likely suited Steve on a baseball field would have been “Grease Stain,” “Sticky-Finger Steve,” “Scrap Iron” and “The Splendid Steve.”